South Swindon (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 51°33′32″N 1°46′55″W / 51.559°N 1.782°W

South Swindon
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of South Swindon in Wiltshire.
Location of Wiltshire within England.
County	Wiltshire
Electorate	73,449 (December 2010)[1]
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of parliament	Robert Buckland (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Swindon and Devizes
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South West England

South Swindon is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Robert Buckland, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

1997-2012: The Borough of Swindon wards of Central, Dorcan, Eastcott, Freshbrook & Grange Park, Old Town & Lawn, Parks, Ridgeway, Shaw & Nine Elms, Toothill & Westlea, Walcot, and Wroughton & Chiseldon.

2012-present: The Borough of Swindon wards of Central, Chiseldon & Lawn, Eastcott, Liden, Eldene & Park South, Lydiard & Freshbrook, Old Town, Ridgeway, Shaw, Walcot & Park North, and Wroughton & Wichelstowe, plus one polling district of the Covingham & Dorcan Ward and two polling districts of the Mannington & Western Ward.

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the seats of Swindon that was abolished, and Devizes that remains. This seat with a population of around 93,000 incorporates the southern half of the town as well as farms and villages with hamlets to the immediate south and east of Swindon.

It used slightly amended boundaries for the 2010 election, which saw it lose South Marston to North Swindon. The border now runs from Dorcan across to Bishopstone and then down to Russley Park before running west to Barbury Castle. From there it runs north to the Roughmoor area and loops back down to incorporate West Swindon, before following the railway line east through the town and back to Dorcan. In addition to the south of Swindon, main settlements include Wroughton, Chiseldon, Wanborough and Liddington.^[2]

History

Historically Swindon is a railway town and until the latter part of the 20th century the related works were the primary employer.^[3] Today Swindon is the home of a number of large companies, examples specific to South Swindon include Intel's European headquarters,^[4] Nationwide's headquarters^[5] and Zurich Financial Services' UK headquarters.

Members

Created in 1997, the South Swindon constituency swinging in line with the national average in the New Labour landslide, produced a fairly safe majority for the Labour winner. Julia Drown had a lead of more than 5,000 which was extended in 2001 to more than 7,000 but then dropped dramatically on a new candidate's selection, to just 1,353 in 2005, making it a highly marginal seat. In 2010 Robert Buckland, a Conservative, gained South Swindon at the general election with a majority of just over 3500. In 2015, the Conservative majority increased to 5785, making the seat fairly safe for the Conservatives. Robert Buckland is the current Solicitor General for England and Wales.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[6]	Party
	1997	Julia Drown	Labour
	2005	Anne Snelgrove	Labour
	2010	Robert Buckland	Conservative

Elections

General Election 2015: South Swindon[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	22,777	46.2	+4.5
	Labour	Anne Snelgrove	16,992	34.5	+0.2
	UKIP	John Short[8]	5,920	12.0	+7.7
	Liberal Democrat	Damon Hooton[9]	1,817	3.7	-13.9
	Green	Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn[10]	1,757	3.6	+2.3
Majority			5,785	11.7
Turnout				66.6	+1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.1

General Election 2010: South Swindon[11][12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	19,687	41.8	+4.9
	Labour	Anne Snelgrove	16,143	34.3	-6.2
	Liberal Democrat	Damon Hooton	8,305	17.6	+0.6
	UKIP	Robert Tingley	2,029	4.3	+2.1
	Green	Jenni Miles	619	1.3	-1.6
	Christian	Alistair Kirk	176	0.4	+0.4
	Independent	Karsten Evans	160	0.3	+0.3
Majority			3,544	7.5
Turnout			47,119	64.9%	+5.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	5.51%

General Election 2005: South Swindon[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anne Snelgrove	17,534	40.3	−11.0
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	16,181	37.2	+2.8
	Liberal Democrat	Sue Stebbing	7,322	16.8	+4.9
	Green	Bill Hughes	1,234	2.8	N/A
	UKIP	Stephen Halden	955	2.2	+0.6
	Independent	Alan Hayward	193	0.4	N/A
	Independent	John Williams	53	0.1	N/A
Majority			1,353	3.1
Turnout			43,472	60.2	−0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.9

General Election 2001: South Swindon[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julia Drown	22,260	51.3	+4.5
	Conservative	Simon Coombs	14,919	34.4	-1.4
	Liberal Democrat	Geoff Brewer	5,165	11.9	-2.5
	UKIP	Vicki Sharp	713	1.6	N/A
	Rock 'n' Roll Loony	Roly Gillard	327	0.8	N/A
Majority			7,341	16.9
Turnout			43,384	61.0	-11.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1997: South Swindon[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julia Drown	23,943	46.80
	Conservative	Simon Coombs	18,298	35.77
	Liberal Democrat	S Pajak	7,371	14.41
	Referendum	D McIntosh	1,273	2.49
	Independent	R Charman	181	0.19
	Natural Law	K Buscombe	96	0.19
Majority			5,645	11.03
Turnout				72.87
	Labour hold		Swing

Neighbouring constituencies

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Wiltshire

Notes and references

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
3. http://www.swindonweb.com/?m=8&s=116&ss=321&c=1183&t=The+Railway+Works
4. http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Intel_Corporation_(UK)_Limited.c96b499236a6df87.html
5. http://www.nationwide.co.uk/about_nationwide/accessibility/admin_centres.htm
6. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
7. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/11738359.UKIP_names_general_election_candidates
9. http://www.libdems.org.uk/general_election_candidates#South West
10. http://southwest.greenparty.org.uk/general-election-2015.html
11. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. Taylor, Stephen P (20 April 2010). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Returning Officer. Swindone Borough Council. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
13. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
15. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.